India & Australia: Perfecting the Art of Comeback

At the end of day 5 in Ranchi, a draw was probably a fair result. And the series scoreline, with a test to go, is also a fair reflection of how both teams have competed relentlessly on even terms. The Ranchi test ebbed and flowed in a manner symptomatic of this series. Australia pushed India on the back-foot through a sizable first innings total and by making inroads into the Indian middle-order. India then pulled things back through a monumental 7th wicket partnership and then applied pressure on the Aussies by picking up their first 4 wickets cheaply. Finally, it was left to the young, Handscomb and the experienced, Shaun Marsh to combine and save the day for the visitors.

Recapping Day 4 and Day 5

Australia had a slight upper hand going in to Day 4 with India still trailing by 91 (Check out My previous blog). The overcast conditions (necessitating the use of flood-lights) seemed to be tailor-made for Cummins and Hazlewood. However, the ball was soft (50 overs old) and the next new ball was available only after another 30 overs. Australia tried very hard, dried up the runs but couldn't break the resistance offered by Pujara and Saha. While Pujara remained resolute in defence, Saha used his feet intelligently against the spinners. Even though only 75 runs were added in the morning session, this pair ensured that India didn't lose a wicket and in the process came very close to the Aussie first innings total. Australia took the new ball as soon as it was available, in the hopes of breaking the partnership & then running through the Indian lower middle order. Those hopes were to remain suspended for another session though. And any hopes of India going for quick runs in the 2nd session quickly evaporated as the overnight pair ensured another wicketless session with the addition of 68 runs between lunch and tea. Post-tea session, however, was the most eventful of the match. Saha quickly completed his 3rd test century and then Pujara completed his double century, the 3rd of his career and 2nd against Australia. He got out shortly after that, giving Lyon his first wicket since the first innings of Bengaluru test, and ending a monumental 199 run partnership with Saha. Jadeja quickly got into the groove and even though Saha departed shortly after Pujara, he along with Umesh Yadav piled on further misery on the Australians by putting together a 54 run partnership. Jadeja got a quickfire fifty (54 off 55 balls) before Kohli declared, with India 152 in front and Australia facing the daunting task of seeing off 8 overs before close of play. They ultimately didn't have to play the full 8 overs as the nightwatchman, Lyon, fell to 2nd delivery of the last over. Jadeja was expected to be the danger-man for Australia and he got both Warner and then Lyon by two absolutely top class deliveries. Australia ended Day 4 at 23-2, still 129 runs in arrears, and staring at a real prospect of defeat.

Day 5 began with Australia's most prolific pair (during this series) on the crease. Both Renshaw and Smith had played the Indian spinners reasonably comfortably throughout the series and India knew that breaking this partnership would almost mean a foot in the door. The pair survived for another 21 overs and had brought the lead down to less than 100, when Renshaw fell LBW to Ishant. The Indian quick who was bowling from round the wicket, set up Renshaw very nicely. He bowled a couple of nasty bouncers and followed those up with a full delivery that caught Renshaw on the crease, dead in front of the stumps. Three balls later, Jadeja accounted for Smith when the Australian captain, in a moment of indecision eerily similar to his Indian counterpart in Bengaluru, padded up to a delivery that was relatively full and in line with the stumps, and lost his off-stump. With both in-form batsmen back in the hut and Australia still 89 runs behind India, Kohli & Co. must have started harbouring hopes of wrapping up a victory in the 2nd session. That however proved to be a false dawn with Shaun Marsh and Handscomb displaying superior defensive technique and putting up an outstanding rearguard action. Very importantly, the rightie-leftie pair kept the scoreboard ticking thereby eating away at India's lead. By the time Jadeja got Marsh, they had added 124 runs, eaten up 62 additional overs and the match was already in the last hour. Even though, Ashwin got Maxwell shortly thereafter, both Handscomb and Wade ensured no further damage and finally, with 10 minutes left, Kohli and Handscomb shook hands, signalling the end of a very thrilling encounter. 

Stats Stack-up

Two of the top 3 batsmen from both teams continue to dominate the batting charts. And, Peter Handscomb is slowly starting to make his mark in this series. He combined brilliantly with Shaun Marsh (who's at no.6 in the list below) to pull Australia out of the woods and help them save the Ranchi test. And who would've thought that Kohli would muster less than 50 runs in 5 innings! 

Data source: ESPNcricinfo.com

There's not much change in the bowling charts either. Jadeja has emerged as the most effective as well as the most consistent bowler from either side. Steve O'Keefe has been steady over the last two tests following his spectacular 12-wicket haul in Pune. Both the off-spinners will be slightly disappointed - they've been good in patches (one inning each in Bengaluru) but haven't looked consistently penetrative. Umesh Yadav continues to be the best fast bowler from either side but he may be in for some competition from Pat Cummins (given the likely conditions in Dharamsala). 

Data source: ESPNcricinfo.com

Everything on the line in Dharamsala

The next test in Dharamsala starts in 5 days and this gives very little time for the players to recover. This is especially true for bowlers - on an average, the fast bowlers bowled 40 overs while the spinners bowled 70 overs (mainly because of Jadeja and O'Keefe) in this match. However, with the season coming to an end, the respective team managements will push the players to give it all. Plus, there's plenty on line here. Whoever wins the next match, wins this series as well as the Border-Gavaskar trophy. In case of a draw, Australia will retain the trophy. 

A fighting draw in Ranchi may give the momentum to the Aussies and hence make them favourites for the next test, but there've been enough instances during this series where teams, when counted down and out, have made spectacular comebacks. Recall how India seemed down and out at the end of Day 1 in Bengaluru (check my blog during Bengaluru test), and having already lost the Pune test (check my blog after Pune test), were in serious danger of losing the series. Instead they mounted a superb comeback, led by their bowlers as well as Pujara and Rahane, and pinned the Aussies on the mat. Coming into the 3rd test, remember the kind of pressure Australia and Steve Smith were under (following the DRS-issue). India were considered heavy favourites to continue their winning momentum in Ranchi. And yet, Australia, led by Smith and comeback man Maxwell, mounted an impressive first innings total. Further, Pat Cummins, returning to test cricket after 6 years, put India under serious pressure. Then again, Pujara and Saha rescued India with the bat while Jadeja, with both bat and ball, gave a mighty scare to the Aussies. Prediction won't make for a lucrative profession in this series. 

Dharamsala, making its debut as India's 27th test centre, will have a much cooler climate. It has traditionally assisted fast bowlers. We are all set for the final test of this season. Here's hoping that Dharamsala adds another exciting chapter to this riveting series!

Ranchi Test, Day 3: Hard to separate the two teams!

What a contrast Ranchi has presented when compared to Pune or even Bengaluru! Contrary to expectations, this looks like a fantastic test match pitch which allows run making as well as wicket-taking, but only to those who can ally skill with perseverance. Thankfully, both sides have thrown up a few players displaying this trait and this has resulted in a riveting test match till now.

Match recap till Day 3

Australia scored 451 in their first innings, thanks largely to Steve Smith's unbeaten 178 and Glenn Maxwell's maiden test century (104). On a good batting wicket, Smith won the toss and chose to bat. Renshaw and Warner gave the Aussies a frenetic start, putting together 50 in less than 10 overs, before a combination of loose strokes and good bowling, pulled them back to 89-3. Smith and Handscomb led a minor revival before Umesh trapped Handscomb LBW with a superb in-swinging yorker. At 140-4, Smith knew he needed support from his teammates to take Australia beyond 350, a score that would've kept Australia in the game. He found one in Glenn Maxwell. Together they put on 191 runs for the 5th wicket; in the process, Glenn Maxwell hit his maiden test century. Smith also got some useful support from Wade and Steve O'Keefe to help Australia finish with 451. Jadeja and Umesh were the standout bowlers for India, picking up 5 and 3 wickets, respectively.

In reply, India got off to their best start of the series with the aggressive KL Rahul combining very well with M Vijay to put on 91 for the first wicket. Rahul continued his rich vein of form to score a brisk 67 before he was undone by a superb bouncer from the comeback man, Pat Cummins. Then, Vijay and Pujara put together their 6th century partnership of this season before Vijay, in what was a brain-fade moment, stepped out to O'Keefe in the last over before lunch and was stumped by a long-way. He fell 18 short of a well-deserved 100. However, Pujara did get to his 11th test century - the first by an Indian in this series. Despite receiving little support from the other end, with both Kohli and Rahane falling cheaply, Pujara held one end up, picked up the scoring rate once the 2nd new ball was taken and ensured that India remained within touching distance of Australia. Pat Cummins was the most impressive Aussie bowler on display, picking up 4 wickets.

India ended Day 3 at 360-6. Both India and Australia would be reasonably satisfied with this day. India, because it is now within striking distance of Australia's total and with Pujara still on the crease, can harbor hopes of overhauling 451. Australia on the other hand would be pleased that it restricted the Indian scoring rate on Day 3 and just allowed 240 runs while picking up 5 wickets, on a pitch that is still very good for batting. It doesn't look like that the pitch will crumble at an alarmingly rapid rate and hence, this test match may last the distance. Coming in to Day 4, Australia would like to wrap up the last four wickets for not too many, score quickly in their 2nd innings and possibly declare an hour before the end of day's play (ideally setting India a target of 350). India, on the other hand, would like some quick runs from Jadeja and Saha, and then look to dismiss Australia cheaply. They would ideally want to chase a score of not more than 150 in the final innings.

Key factors that may shape the outcome of the match

• Jadeja & Ashwin - Apart from the quick runs India expects Jadeja to make, they will also want him to continue his rich bowling form. There are foot-marks created outside the left-hander's off-stump (by the right arm quickies from both sides) and given the predominance of lefties in the Aussie lineup, Jadeja would like to exploit this to the hilt. He's been the best spinner from either side in Ranchi and India's hopes for a win will rest largely on his shoulders. India would also expect Ashwin to find the match-winning form that he displayed in the 2nd innings of Bengaluru test. 

• Warner & Maxwell - Australia will need quick runs in their 2nd innings and would look up to the explosive duo of Warner and Maxwell to deliver the goods. Warner is due for a big score and the match situation may de-clutter his mind and enable him to commit fully to an aggressive batting strategy. Maxwell on the other hand, would be supremely confident after his first innings century. He's had success against Ashwin in the past (during IPL) and his unorthodox methods can upset bowlers' rhythm.

• Aussie bowling - The Aussie bowlers would have their task cut out in the 4th innings of the match. While Cummins has looked very impressive in his comeback match and Hazlewood continues to toil away diligently, both Lyon and O'Keefe haven't looked threatening since the first innings of Bengaluru test. The Aussie spin duo will have to come to the party if Australia wants to seal the Border-Gavaskar trophy at Ranchi. Additionally, reverse swing will also be a factor going forward.

• Pitch - The Ranchi pitch has played very well till now. However, both teams will be hoping that it starts assisting the spinners more & more on Day 4 and 5. Typically, one would expect spin and variable bounce, thereby making run-scoring difficult. The conditions are likely to assist reverse swing too. 

Both the captains would be very keen to win the Ranchi test. If Australia win, they'll retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy irrespective of the result in the next test. In case of an Indian victory, the team will definitely enter the next test as strong favorites to regain the trophy. The match situation will clearly test the patience as well as pro-activeness of both the captains. On this pitch, a proactive captain will strive to make things happen. Here's hoping that fortune favors the brave!   

  

Federer and Kyrgios set up blockbuster QF at Indian Wells

Roger Federer and Nick Kyrgios came through their blockbuster 4th round encounters at Indian Wells in straight sets on Wednesday. While the victories were not entirely surprising (given recent head-to-head record), the scorelines definitely were. One would've expected Nadal and Djokovic, respectively, to take the match to the decider. However, both Federer and Kyrgios relentlessly stuck to a very aggressive game plan and neither of them offered any window of opportunity to their opponents. This ensured that they are now, the last men standing in this "Quarter of Death".

Djokovic - Kyrgios: Acapulco to California

This match was a repeat of the quarter final match in Acapulco (Mexican Open), a couple of weeks back. Then, Kyrgios had upset Djokovic in two close sets 7-6(9), 7-5. Who would have thought that the brilliant-but-inconsistent Kyrgios will outmatch that superlative performance with such a powerful display at Indian Wells that by the time the match ended, Djokovic was left dazed, unsure and frustrated.

Kyrgios gave a superlative serving performance, sending down 14 aces, winning 86% of first serves and he also denied Djokovic any break point opportunity. The last bit was crucial, coming as it was, against one of the best returners of all time. In his 6-4, 7-6(3) victory achieved in 112 mins, the Aussie blasted 25 winners and made just 19 unforced errors. Contrast this with Djokovic, who made 25 unforced errors, a lot of them from his normally reliable backhand side. This defeat ended the three-time defending champion's 19-match winning streak at Indian Wells. The tall Canberra native broke Djokovic in the very first game of the match and, even though he had chances to go double-break up in the 3rd and 7th games, this lone break was enough to secure the opening set. The second set was much closer with Djokovic holding his service more comfortably until the 11th game, where he had to fend off two break points to force the set into a tie-breaker. Here too, Kyrgios was way too powerful, going up a mini-break very early on and thoroughly dominated the tie-break to win it 7 points to 3.

Apart from his massive service, Kyrgios managed to stay with Djokovic in most of the long rallies. His ability to constantly change directions & pace on his groundstrokes did not allow Djokovic to settle into any rhythm. Plus, he took a lot of service returns very early, winning 30% of first serve return points and managed to upstage Djokovic even in this aspect. No wonder, the Serb was so frustrated that he constantly berated himself and even smashed his racquet to pieces after losing the first set.

Fedal: Season '17 Episode 02!

When the draw for the tournament was out, the first match-up everybody took note of, was the potential 4th round encounter between Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal. After all, this would be their earliest meeting in any tournament since their first ever encounter in Miami 13 years ago. The fact that this 4th round encounter was taking place after a high-octane Australian Open final, contested by these two only six weeks ago, made it even more promising. 

Federer had defeated Nadal at the Australian Open by employing a very aggressive game-plan where he was taking his shots very early, keeping the points shorter and flattening out his backhand (instead of using slice). Even though the surface at Indian Wells is much slower than the one at Rod Laver arena, Federer wasn't going to abandon this game plan. He broke Nadal in the very first game of the match, hitting two winners, hitting hard & deep from both wings, taking the service very early and basically setting the template for the match. Nadal had a break point opportunity in the next game but Federer quickly snuffed that out with a huge serve and went on to hold, thereby consolidating his break. Alas, that was the last service break opportunity that Nadal had for the entire match. Federer broke Nadal again in the 5th game, winning the game via an exquisite backhand down-the-line return winner. He eventually won the first set 6-2. Although Rafa started the 2nd set confidently, Federer broke him in the 3rd game, sealing it with a screaming, inside-out forehand cross-court winner. Thereafter, Federer was rarely troubled on his service games and this enabled him to take more risks on Nadal's service games. This gamble eventually paid off as Federer broke Nadal again in the 9th game, winning the game, set and match with another backhand down-the-line return winner.

The utterly dominant 6-2, 6-3 win came in only 68 minutes and helped Federer close the H2H gap with Nadal (now stands at 23-13). The Swiss genius hit 5 aces and won 76% of first serve points, 75% of 2nd serve points and 44% of first return points. All these numbers were far superior to Nadal. In all, he hit 26 winners and made 17 unforced errors vis-a-vis Nadal who hit 10 winners and 15 unforced errors. Under Ljubicic, Federer seems to have a better game plan against Nadal. Also, the larger racquet head (which he adopted in 2014) seems to have made him more confident to hit flat / topspin backhands instead of slice (esp. on big points). Lastly, he's improved his defensive game as well, introducing a sort-of-loopy backhand when pushed into a defensive position - this shot is hit deep and gives Federer the chance to recover his court position and also elicits a weaker response from the opponent. 

Federer, Kyrgios and the path to glory!

Federer and Kyrgios will clash for a place in the semi-finals. In their only previous encounter, held on clay in 2015, Kyrgios had defeated Federer in three tight sets (all sets were decided by a tie-break). With Andy Murray already eliminated from the top half of the draw, the winner of this QF will have a good chance of going all the way. Given his recent form, Kyrgios will be quite confident of reaching his 3rd consecutive semi-final in tournaments this year. Federer, on the other hand, buoyed by his recent victories over Nadal, would be keen to win his 5th Indian Wells title, his 25th ATP Masters 1000 title and his 90th tournament overall. Whatever the outcome, we are all set for a potentially entertaining QF!               

Ranchi's test debut with series nicely set up at 1-1!

India made a stunning comeback in the Bengaluru test to level the series 1-1. The thrilling final day at Bengaluru has left the cricket lovers gushing for more! All the events - wickets, runs, swing, seam, spin, DRS reviews, momentum swings; everything seemed to be happening in fast-forward mode. Almost as if, Day 4 was a microcosm of the three previous days. So the long gap between the Bengaluru and Ranchi tests was welcome. Everybody, including the fans, needed to catch some breath after that breathtaking match.

Reliving the Thrilling Day 4

The day started with the match in balance. India started off cautiously - only 11 runs came off the first 8 overs. There were a few nervy moments for India - both against Pujara. First, when he a popped up a Steve O'Keefe delivery to forward short leg, where the usually brilliant Handscomb could only catch this one on a half-volley. And then again in the next over, when Lyon trapped Pujara LBW through a viciously spinning delivery which kept low, only to be overturned by DRS. The ball-tracker confirmed that the ball was spinning down the leg side. These anxious moments aside, the first 45 minutes of the day were calm & serene. This, however, turned out to be the calm before the storm. Australia took the new ball immediately after the 80th over. And this decision turned the match in Australia's favour. Mitch Starc, bowling fast & full, swinging the new ball into the right-handers, created havoc and within a space of 3 balls, had the well-set Rahane LBW, castled the in-form Nair and nearly got Saha too. In the very next over, Hazlewood got Pujara and Ashwin in quick succession. Pujara could not get to a well-deserved 100, falling in the nineties for the first time in his career. In his next over, Hazlewood got Umesh Yadav and this left India tottering at 258-9. Ultimately, Saha and Ishant got 16 more runs before O'Keefe got Ishant. India were all out for 274, losing the last 6 wickets for 36 runs, thereby setting Australia a target of 188. This was an in-between kind of a target; neither the 225+ that would have made India the firm favorites (esp. given the position they were in at the start of Day 4) nor the kind of total that Australia could've just cantered through.

The Aussies started their chase in a brisk manner, probably aware that the new ball was the best time to pick up quick runs. Ashwin started off very well, repeatedly troubling the shorter man, Warner. On the other hand, Ishant got the Aussie bedrock, Renshaw, pretty early. It was a very good ball - bowled from round the wicket, angled in, bounced & seamed away, taking the glove on its way to Saha. Despite this early hiccup and a few other nervy moments, Australia had galloped to 42-1 after 9 overs, a run rate of 4.67 (far ahead of the run-rates achieved in the previous three innings of the match). This is when disaster struck for Australia. Ashwin, who was bowling from over the wicket to Warner and was hit for a 6 off the last ball of his previous over, switched to round the wicket and on the very first ball, Warner tried to sweep a flighted off-break and was wrapped on his pads. The umpire gave it out and after a surprising moment of hesitation, Warner went for the DRS. The ball tracker showed that the ball barely hit Warner in the line of off-stump (in fact, to the naked eye, it appeared that the ball had hit him outside the line) - this was adjudged as umpire's call. Further, the ball seemed to be hitting the outside of off-stump - again adjudged as umpire's call. Given the evidence, DRS had to agree with the on-field umpire's decision but it was a highly contentious decision and one that would have a lasting impact on the outcome of the match. Smith and Shaun Marsh continued the steady flow of runs and took Australia to 67-2 when a slew of serious errors in judgement rocked the Aussie boat again. Firstly, Shaun Marsh shouldered arms & was wrapped on his pads to a Umesh Yadav delivery from round the stumps. Then, the umpire Nigel Llong, adjudged him LBW when the ball was clearly going to miss the stumps. Shockingly, Smith and Marsh decided not to review the decision! That decision of not reviewing was probably based on the fact that they had just lost a review (Warner) and did not want to risk a scenario where they would be left with no reviews for 65 overs. India of course, did not mind these dollops of luck but were very much aware of the danger that Smith posed. He was expertly handling the spinners and was keeping out the grubbers delivered by Indian seamers. However, in the 21st over, another grubber from Umesh proved one too many for Smith and he was hit plumb in front of his stumps. Surprisingly, this time, Smith was rather keen on reviewing and even looked up to his dressing room for help with DRS. This was a clear breach of rules and the umpires intervened, sending Smith on his way. Even Kohli had a thing or two to say to his Aussie counterpart. This was the final nail in the coffin for Australia, and despite Handscomb and Mitch Marsh putting up a brief resistance, a rampaging Ashwin proved too much for the lower-middle order. Very much like their opponents, Australia lost the last 6 wickets for 38 runs with Ashwin picking up 5 of them. He roared back into form with a match-winning spell of 6-41 in the 2nd innings while KL Rahul, for his twin-fifties in a low scoring affair, was adjudged the Man of the Match. India won the match by 75 runs and leveled the series in emphatic fashion.

The much-dreaded thunderstorms arrived in the evening but thankfully, the match was over by then. It would've been cruel if rains were to decide the outcome of such a thrilling match.

Key themes in this series

Pitches

While it's fair to say that the pitches have been spinner friendly (spinners have taken 57 of the 80 wickets to fall in the series), the fast bowlers have also had an impact, esp. in the Bengaluru test where they accounted for 14 out of the 40 wickets that fell. Pune served up a rank-turner with the pitch crumbling on day 1 itself thereby offering vicious turn & bounce. On such a pitch, quick left-arm orthodox spinners became more dangerous and both the captains relied more on spin vis-a-vis pace. The Bengaluru pitch on the other hand offered variable bounce (more on the lower side) which brought the fast bowlers into play as well as slow turn which forced the spinners to rely more on variations in flight & uneven bounce. The charts below bear this out.

Data source: ESPNcricinfo.com

Data source: ESPNcricinfo.com

Starc, the batsman, as crucial as Starc, the bowler

As Australia's premier strike bowler, Mitch Starc has bowled at high pace throughout the series. He's got the ball to swing into the right-handers from over the wicket, got it to rear up from a good length and has gone round the wicket in search of reverse swing. Even though he's picked up only 5 wickets, each of those have been top order batsmen. Equally impressive has been his performance with the bat. He's amongst the top 5 run getters having out-scored both Warner and Kohli. In fact, he's accounted for 54% of the runs scored by the last 5 Australian batsmen across all innings (118 runs out of 217). In a series punctuated with low scores, where no team has crossed 300 and teams have not been able to cross 125 on three separate occasions, Starc's contribution with the bat has had a major impact. His absence for the remainder of the series, therefore, will be a massive blow to the Aussies.

Top order thrives, middle order flops

From both sides, an opener and the no. 3 batsman has thrived. KL Rahul has been India's star performer with the bat, and with 215 runs, is the highest run getter on either side. He, alongwith Pujara, has ensured that, even though India has not got off to solid starts during the series, it has made a comeback as a batting unit. On the other hand, Aussies have been assured of a solid start mainly due to the increasingly dependable Renshaw and the captain-prolific, Steve Smith. These four batsmen occupy the top four positions in the batting charts. On the other hand, the failure of David Warner and Virat Kohli has been most surprising. Neither of them has totaled even 100 runs in the series. While Warner has got starts in 3 out of 4 innings, he has generally struggled against Ashwin and hence, has not been able to convert them into big scores. Kohli, on the other hand, has misjudged either the line of the ball or the movement off the pitch on three occasions, and this has resulted in cheap dismissals. All in all, the middle and lower order has undone the good work of the top order.

Data source: ESPNcricinfo.com

Aussie spinners outbowled the Indians; Umesh stands out amongst quicks

In their first three innings, the Indian batsmen were dominated by the Australian spinners. They kept the runs down and picked up 26 out of the 30 wickets. The impact was such that India could only stitch together two 50-run partnerships across these 3 innings. On the other hand, Ashwin, Jadeja and Jayant Yadav were less impactful in the first test match and couldn't run through the Australian batting line up. This allowed the Aussies to stitch together four 50-run partnerships in the first test itself. However, first Jadeja and then Ashwin began pulling things back in the 2nd test. They matched the Aussie spinners in the first innings of the 2nd test match and then finally, outbowled them in the 2nd innings with Ashwin leading the way. 

In the pace bowling department, while both Starc and Hazlewood have had their moments, Umesh Yadav has been the standout quick bowler from either side. He picked up 6 wickets in the Pune test and 3 top order batsmen in the Bengaluru test. Umesh has been quick, economical and has consistently generated pace & movement. 

Data source: ESPNcricinfo.com

DRS usage & impact

The Decision Review System has added spice to the ongoing series. It's not just those decisions which were reviewed, but even those that could've been reviewed but weren't, that added to the drama. By common consensus, India were pretty ordinary with their usage of DRS in the first test. While fielding, in both their innings, they wasted their reviews within the first 40 overs. While batting in the 2nd innings, they wasted their reviews within the first 6 overs! None of the wasted reviews were even close to overturning the umpire's decision. On the other hand, Australia were very judicious with their usage of review system, never reviewing those where they had some doubt, and they ended up with multiple successful reviews throughout the match.

India's first innings at Bengaluru seemed to be a continuation of Pune when Kohli left a relatively straight & fuller delivery from Lyon and was trapped plumb in front. If the leave wasn't shocking enough, he decided to outmatch that with a shocking review! In Australia's first innings, India missed a trick by, ironically, not going for a review against Shaun Marsh when he gloved a Umesh Yadav delivery to Saha. He was on 14 at that time and went on to make a crucial 66. In between, Marsh went for a great review when adjudged LBW to Yadav and managed to get the decision overturned. India meanwhile continued with the trend of "hopeful" reviews and were out of their 2nd set of reviews (granted after the 80th over) by the 94th over!

Things however, began changing in India's 2nd innings. Kohli reviewed what looked like a genuine 50-50 LBW call and was probably unlucky that there was no conclusive evidence proving whether the ball hit the bat first or the pad. Even Pujara got an LBW call overturned. The Aussies, meanwhile, continued to be judicious with their use of DRS.

The review system left a significant impact on the match in Australia's 2nd innings. First, the Warner dismissal was clearly a contentious call where the benefit of doubt should have gone in favour of the batsman. Then, Shaun Marsh not reviewing a howler was clearly influenced by the Warner review. Lastly, the Smith episode where he, after being adjudged LBW, looked up his dressing room for advice on whether or not to go for the review, caused a lot of bad blood between the two teams. Smith insisted "brain-fade", Kohli alleged ongoing tactic and ultimately, the two cricket boards had to intervene and call a truce.

Leading up to the Ranchi test

Pitch

The JSCA International Stadium at Ranchi is set to make its debut as India's 26th test center. The average first innings total in the two Ranji matches held earlier this season is 140. Progressively the pitch became better for batting in those games. Also, it has been known to assist both the seamers as well as spinners. As per media reports, the pitch for the upcoming test match has an unusual dark color about it and experts believe that it won't bounce a lot. The dark color of the pitch may be on account of moisture which would mean that spinners relying on overspin (like Lyon) may extract some bounce on the first couple of days. The moisture in the pitch should also help bowlers who can extract seam movement. The pitch should become better for batting on Day 2 and Day 3.

Team compositions

Mitch Starc's injury will be a big blow for the Aussies. Another Mitch (Marsh) has also been ruled out due to injury and that means Australia will be forced to make at least two changes. They've flown in Pat Cummins as a replacement for Starc and he's likely been rushed in to enable a like-for-like replacement (strike bowler to be used in short bursts). However, I won't be surprised if Australia opt for Jackson Bird. Also, I expect them to bring in Marcus Stoinis to replace Mitch Marsh. 

For India, M Vijay should make a comeback as an opener. It's unlikely that they'll drop Karun Nair and bring in Jayant Yadav. 

With the series now in balance and with both teams now aware of each other's strategies, this should be another engrossing affair. Australia can retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy if they win here. Kohli & co. would be eager to prove that Pune was an aberration. Let's Play!  

Bengaluru test tantalizingly poised!

Why did I choose end of Day 3 to put down my thoughts on the 2nd test match between India and Australia? I believe this Bengaluru test is on a knife's edge right now and all four results are distinctly possible. It has been a seesaw battle, with both teams claiming equal honours. What better time then to take stock of whatever led to this situation, and also have fun speculating all that could happen over the next couple of days!

What has transpired till now?

India won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch that most experts described as a batting beauty, one on which 450+ was a par first innings total. It turned out to be anything but! Nathan Lyon, employing massive overspin and thereby extracting disconcerting bounce, troubled all Indian batsmen and returned with figures of 8-50. In the process of Lyon recording the best ever figures by a visiting bowler in India, the world's no. 1 team was bundled out for 189. Except for the local boys (Rahul, who cracked a solid 90, and Karun Nair briefly), none of the Indian batsmen seemed to have a plan to tackle Lyon. By stumps on Day 1, Australia had moved on to a solid-looking 40-0, with the Indian bowlers looking much less penetrative than their Aussie counterparts.

Day 2 started with India fully aware of how one more ordinary day could wipe out their chances of regaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy. They were playing with four bowlers (dropping Jayant Yadav and bringing in an extra batsman in Karun Nair), and couldn't afford a bad day from any of them. However, what transpired over the next 90 overs was arguably India's best all-round bowling performance of the entire season. Both Ishant and Umesh troubled the Aussie batsmen, bowling a very tight line and giving nothing away. So much so, that Virat Kohli didn't employ spin from both ends for a very long time and in the process, underbowled Jadeja. This despite the fact that Jadeja picked up the most number of wickets. Ashwin tried multiple angles, changed sides, got Warner with jaffa, kept the runs down but couldn't manage any more wickets. The Aussies were precise with their game plans, demonstrating admirable patience and temperament to keep India at bay, and scrapping for 197 runs in those 90 overs to end Day 2 at a fairly comfortable 237-6. This translated into a healthy lead of 48 runs. To put it succinctly, India fought hard but couldn't quite wrest the initiative from the Aussies. However, their efforts were enough to prevent the Aussies from running away with the game.

Day 3 then was a day that could have decided the course of the match. Instead, we saw a seesaw battle between bat and ball, with the pendulum swinging this way and that, before settling on to the aforementioned knife-edge equilibrium. First, Starc got Australia off to a promising start and at 269-6, India were staring at a 125+ kind of a lead. A lead that substantial, on a slow and low pitch like this would've meant curtains for India. Instead, Jadeja first took a splendid catch at the mid-wicket boundary when Starc was looking to slog sweep Ashwin, and then cleaned up the tail for the addition of only 7 more runs. He finished up with 6 wickets despite bowling the least number of overs. Australia finished with a lead of 87 runs - made possible by handy contributions from the ever-consistent Renshaw, the normally-inconsistent Shaun Marsh and Mathew Wade. Restricting the Australian lead to less than 100 seemed to infuse fresh energy into the Indian batting, as the openers came out with a very positive intent. Rahul played fluently for his 2nd half-century of the match but when he, Kohli and Jadeja (who was promoted up the order) fell within a space of 36 runs, India were ahead by only 33 runs (effectively 33-4). Once again, Australia were in the driver's seat and, given recent evidence, may have even harbored hopes of chasing less than 100 in the final innings. However, what followed was a superb rear-guard action by Pujara and Rahane. They stitched together a yet-to-be-broken partnership of 93 runs, the highest on either side during this series. Pujara has played magnificently and his unbeaten knock of 79 has brought India right back into this match.

What to expect on Day 4 and (possibly) Day 5?

Going into Day 4, India is ahead by 126 runs with 6 wickets in hand. However, they will be wary of the threat posed by the Aussie bowlers, who've been very immaculate with their control and tactics throughout this series. As has been the norm in this series, the lower order wickets tend to fall in clusters and, except for Mitch Starc, none of the other lower order batsmen from either side have survived for long-intervals. Hence, Aussies would be hoping for a couple of early wickets on day 4 and that could given them a shot at the Indian tail. Like Ishant and Umesh earlier, Josh Hazlewood opting for tighter line, slightly shorter length and seam-bowling instead of swing, has looked the most dangerous. On the other hand, India would be quietly confident of their chances given Pujara and Rahane are going strong and Karun Nair is still in the hut. They'll also be hoping for some meaningful contributions from Saha and Ashwin.

The pitch seems to have gotten better for batting and hence, India would need to set a target of 250+. Anything under that and Australia, with the explosive-and-due-for-a-big-score-Warner in their ranks, will be the favorites. Also, some thunderstorms are expected for the next couple of days. This then opens up all four possible outcomes - yes, given the slow nature of the pitch and how India has closed the gap on the Aussies, even a tie can't be ruled out. Or, more excitingly, Australia fighting for a draw while praying for the rain - who would've thought, even 24 hours ago!

India's Humiliation in the Pune test!!

"If Australia play well, India will win 3-0. That is if Australia play well. Otherwise, 4-0.", said former Indian offie, Harbhajan Singh before the India-Australia test series got underway. Even Sourav Ganguly, an astute reader of the game, predicted that this series could also go 4-0 in India's favor like the England series. Only Virender Sehwag sounded a note of caution, stating that the law of averages may catch up with this Indian team, while predicting a 3-0 or 3-1 kind of a scoreline.

Looking at these predictions as well as the numerous articles in media (which were dismissive of Australia's chances), I became increasingly uncomfortable. After all, everybody was labeling this Australian team as one of the weakest ever. Possibly, the "experts" were being lazy with their analysis. May be, they were taking cue from Australia's last tour of Sri Lanka in July-August 2016, where they were thrashed 3-0. Perfectly reasonable to assume that they were mindful of how the visiting South African team beat Australia 2-1 only 3 months back. I became so wary of how everybody was writing this Australian team off, that I tweeted the following before the 1st test got underway:

So what happened? Why did this Indian test team's juggernaut come to such a screeching halt at Pune? And how come many experts didn't see that coming? After all, this was Australia's first test victory in India since 2004!! (yes, you read that right). And, this was also India's second worst test defeat on home soil - coming 2nd to that very test in 2004 (held at Nagpur). Not to mention, India's combined total of 212 runs across 2 innings and 20 wickets in Pune, is their worst match aggregate ever on home soil. The time for serious soul-searching is now.

What did the experts fail to notice?

The tendency to oversimplify & overlook details and perspectives is all too prevalent today. Especially, if these details unsettle the neat conclusions that one seeks or those that don't fit the prevailing narrative. 

The pivotal moment for Australian cricket during this season came after they suffered a humiliating innings defeat against South Africa in the 2nd test at Hobart in November. This was their 5th consecutive test defeat and there were immediate fallouts - the chairman of selectors, Rod Marsh, resigned and Trevor Hohns became interim chairman. Plus there were wholesale changes to the squad. Three cricketers debuted for Australia in their next test vs South Africa at Adelaide - opener Matt Renshaw, middle-order batsmen Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddison. Also, in came Mathew Wade as the wicket-keeper replacing Peter Nevill while pacer Jackson Bird replaced Joe Mennie. Also, Steve O'Keefe was drafted in against Pakistan in the 3rd test in January 2017 at Sydney. These changes infused a new sense of purpose amongst the Aussies and since then, they've won 5 consecutive tests (including the Pune test). Both Handscomb and Renshaw have been very impressive since their debuts while O'Keefe has made a great comeback.

Youngsters apart, the experienced hands in the Aussie ranks are much too familiar with the Indian conditions. Warner, Steve Smith, Starc, Shaun Marsh have all played regularly in IPL; Warner even led his franchise to their 2nd IPL title in the last edition. While Warner and Steve Smith have very impressive test records, Shaun Marsh has a fantastic record in Asia. Also, what was largely forgotten in the noisy narrative (that "Aussie batsmen will crumble against spin") was the fact that their current batting line up boasts of several batsmen who play spin bowling very well. Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb are very nimble on their feet and are acknowledged as good players of spin bowling.

Determining factors in the Pune test

It'll be useful to analyze what went wrong for India in this test and how Australia prevailed in such dominating fashion. Of course, it would be too simplistic to pin this down to a few factors but I'll still make an effort to highlight the major factors.

The pitch 

The pitch at MCA Stadium in Pune came in for some scrutiny. The surface was very abrasive and devoid of any moisture. This resulted in the ball getting scuffed up pretty quickly and the pitch offering plenty of turn and bounce from the 1st session itself. I tweeted the following after watching the opening hour of play (mind you Australia's opening pair were yet to be separated):

As a matter of fact, the match got over in a little over 2.5 days. The pitch was unlike any India have played in this home season. This rank turner can only be compared with the pitches used during South Africa's tour of India in Nov-Dec 2015. In that series, South Africa didn't cross 200 in any of the completed matches (the Bangalore test was rained off) while India crossed the 300 mark only once. Needless to say, the Australian team adapted much better to the dry surface in Pune vis-a-vis the South African during that series while India's much vaunted batting lineup simply crumbled. On such pitches, a finger spinner is much more lethal given that he can turn the ball a long way even when bowling at a quick pace and at a flatter trajectory. It's still unclear whether this pitch was prepared on specific request from the Indian team management (Kohli denies this) or it was a case of under-preparation given this was the first test match hosted at this venue.

Aussie spinners outbowled their Indian counterparts!

Yes you read that right!! Despite playing three spinners including two off-spinners (presumably to counter the plethora of left-handed batsmen in Australia's batting lineup), Indian spinners were out-bowled by Steve O'Keefe and Nathan Lyon. How did that happen? Some experts have pointed out that on a raging turner like this one, in order to get a dismissal, the deliveries have to be fuller in length (vis-a-vis good pitches). Since the ball turns appreciably after pitching, the closer it is to the bat, the lesser it'll deviate before reaching the bat and thereby has a greater chance of taking an edge instead of missing the bat. Both O'Keefe and Lyon kept the ball much fuller vis-a-vis Jadeja and Ashwin, thereby either inducing an edge or missing the inside edge for an LBW dismissal. The below pitch maps amply demonstrate this:

Source: ESPNcricinfo.com

Source: ESPNcricinfo.com

Notice in the above pitchmaps as to how the Aussie spinners are closer to 2 - 4 mtr range and there are fewer deliveries in the 4 - 6 mtr range vis-a-vis the Indian spinners (in the respective 1st innings). In the 2nd innings, the Indian bowlers tried to bowl fuller (esp. Jadeja) but they were still not full enough.

Source: ESPNcricinfo.com

Source: ESPNcricinfo.com

All in all, while the left arm spin of O'Keefe wreaked havoc amongst the Indian batting line up comprising mainly of right-handers (10 out of 11 batsmen are right-handers), Ashwin couldn't do as much damage against the Aussie batting line up comprising largely of lefties (6 out of 11 batsmen are left-handers).

Aussies batted with a plan, the Indians appeared clueless!

In the pre-match conference, the Aussie skipper spoke about how the spin was inconsistent on Asian pitches (unlike the Australian pitches) and hence, how difficult it was to pick the off-break from the one that didn't turn (even though it was delivered as an off-spinner). On such pitches, Smith professed that one needs to eliminate one half of the bat. In other words, the batsman needs to ensure that he plays the line of the ball and doesn't follow the deliveries that turn. This way, he may get beaten on the outside edge of the bat but not on the inside edge (thereby eliminating LBW). Smith practiced what he preached and got a masterful 100 in the 2nd innings. Renshaw played well in both the innings and specifically targeted Jadeja by repeatedly going down the pitch against him. Mitchell Starc used the long handle to good effect in both the innings and came up with very useful contributions down the order. Overall, the Aussie batsmen showed a lot of grit and patience to muster totals of above 250 in both the innings.

On the other hand, the Indian batsmen looked clueless against the Aussie bowlers esp. O'Keefe. In the 1st innings, they were first bamboozled by the Aussie pacers and then were either too tentative or too dismissive against O'Keefe. In the 2nd innings, they kept missing the straighter ones to either get bowled or LBW. Apart from KL Rahul in the first dig and Pujara in the 2nd, none of the other Indian batsmen showed any fight. As a result, India barely managed to score above 100 in either of the innings and they lasted for less than 75 overs (combined for both the innings).

Australia's superior fielding!

Australia's superior fielding, esp. their close catching, held sway and thereby played a significant part in this match. Handscomb held some outstanding catches in the first innings and both Smith and Wade were safe. On the other hand, Indian fielders dropped Smith three times during the course of his 2nd innings hundred. "Catches win matches" never sounded this prescient.

What lies in store for the rest of this series?

The Pune test was a sudden wake-up call for this all-conquering Indian team. There was possibly a hint of complacency coming into this test but this thrashing must have put them on guard. They'll now know that these Aussie boys are more than a handful and making a comeback & winning this series will test their character and grit to the fullest. I do expect Virat Kohli & Co. to make a comeback in the remaining tests and if the Aussies can continue playing with the same determination and tact, we'll have a cracker of a series - possibly one to rival the memorable 2001 series.

Indian Game Developer Summit 2010

I attended the Saltmarch Media's Indian Game Developer Summit 2010 in Bangalore on 27th Feb. Now someone may ask, Why? After all, I am no game developer. I can't even write a few 100 lines of programming code to save my life. I am an investment banker and what the hell is an I-Banker doing at a conference mingling with the tech geeks? Well, being an I-Banker doesn't stop someone from being a game enthusiast (check my twitter intro: http://twitter.com/swapstick) and it is in this capacity that I flew to Bangalore on Friday (26th Feb) night.

The flight was delayed by an hour and a half ensuring that I'd only reach Bangalore on Saturday (00:20 hours to be precise). I told myself that things can only get better from hereon. Except that half an hour later, I got a call from my travel agent that the bus I was planning to take for my return journey was cancelled. Anyways, I reached Bangalore by 00:30 am and reached my friend's place by 2:00 am. After a little sleep (yep, that's what I call 4.5 hours of sleep), I was at the conference venue (Nimhans Convention Centre) by 9:00 am. After registering myself for the event (and receiving a nice blue bag), I entered the IGDS arena (believe gamers like that word).

The opening keynote ("Envision, Enable, Achieve") was delivered by Carl Jones, Director - Global Business Development for CryENGINE at Crytek. Carl spoke about how Crytek was founded in 1999 by a small team of 10 people in a smallish town in Germany. And how within 10 years of consistently pursuing 'AAA' success and focusing only on organic growth, it has become one of Europe's largest independent game developers. There were a few demo videos which demonstrated the capabilities of Crytek's engine (understand that the latest version would be made more affordable for developers shortly). It was also interesting to note that at Crytek, game designers don't focus too much on having detailed design documents. Instead the core design framework focuses on documenting the game pillars supported by various game features and according the developers more flexibility. In the Q&A session that followed, I wanted to ask him as to why don't they look at inorganic growth strategy (esp since EA has been growing this way) but the clock struck 10:20 before the microphone could reach me. All in all, it was a fantastic opening to what would eventually turn out to be a trend-setting event.

From thereon, three sessions ran parallel in three halls. So the next session that I attended was "Creating Successful Online Games" by Robin Alter, Co-Founder and CTO at Kreeda Games India. Robin emphasized on how important it is to involve the client (i.e. publisher) throughout the game development process by providing them with prototypes, animation modules etc. At Kreeda, the developers follow Kreeda Development Methodology comprising 5 Ds: Discover, Define, Design (enterprise-level), Develop and Deploy. Robin also touched upon a new game they are developing and announced that the Beta version would be launched shortly. A good session but once again I couldn't ask my question in the shortish Q&A session.

In college, we were the perennial LLBs (Lords of Last Benches) but here, sitting at the back was costing me the opportunities to ask my questions. So I broke the norm and sat among the first few rows for the next session, "Create, Distribute and Monetize your Games using Adobe Flash Platform" by Harish Sivaramakrishnan, a Computer Scientist and Platform Evangelist at Adobe Systems. In the 'Create' subsection of his presentation, Harish talked about powerful runtimes like Flash Player 10.1 (beta) which can be used for porting PC games to mobile platforms and Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR 3) for desktop games as well as tools like Adobe Stratus. He also touched upon 3rd party libraries which could be used for creating different applications. But for me, what took the cake was the next subsection, 'Distribute'. Here, Harish introduced Adobe Distribution Manager, a powerful tool that can be used to add Adobe applications (like games) to social networking platforms like Facebook, MySpace, iGoogle etc.; track and analyse user engagement (eg no. of gamers) and distribution data; create campaigns & make MONEY (through ads). Finally, he had just enough time to introduce Shibuya (still in Beta version) which can be thought of as an online marketplace for AIR applications. This time I had an opportunity to ask a couple of questions. But there was one little problem. Being technologically challenged (i.e. TCed), I didn't have any.

Did I forget to mention about the various exhibition stalls by various sponsors like Nvidia, Adobe, DSK Supinfocom, AIGA among others? On display were state-of-the-art systems, demo videos, information on various gaming courses etc. This truly enhanced the value proposition of IGDS 2010.

My 3rd session was "Business of Online Games" by Tridib Roy Chowdhary, Director of Products at Adobe Systems. Now this was one session where I expected myself to be an active participant. Tridib started off by talking about the typical value chain in the video game industry (developer -> publisher / aggregator -> portal -> gamer and advertisers who bring in the revenue). The depressing part (if you are a developer) was that in the traditional value chain, typically only 5% of revenues reach the developer. Given that advertisement in games is still under-penetrated, Tridib suggested trying other gaming genres like advergames, dynamic in-game advertising, social games etc. But all these pale in comparison to the Mochi model. In the Mochi model, developers can earn as much as 50% of the revenues and publishers thrive on volume-play. And finally I did ask a question (about developers building their own brands) and received a satisfactory reply. A great session and a perfect way to go into lunch.

The food served at lunch was tasty and hygienic & quite frankly, I was pleasantly surprised. A big thanks to the organizers as they ensured that none of us had to go out for lunch. That left us some time to visit the stalls and network.

Post-lunch sessions are always tough (at least from what I can recall from my college days). So once settled into the comforts of the audi chair, I should have been excused for taking a little nap. But the prospects of my next session ("Sell Your Game, Adopt a Game Designer" by the DSK Supinfocom team) kept me awake. It was a decent session wherein the importance of game design was emphasized. It was also useful to watch a couple of game review videos (from Gamespot.com) and appreciate the difference a good game design makes.

"Preparing for the Great Indian Social Gaming Rush" by Sumit Gupta was my next session. At the outset, Sumit (CEO and Founder of BitRhymes) defined social gaming and for the sake of "TCed" people like me, I'll repeat the same here. Social games are casual games designed for non-gamers urging them to play with their friends for 5-10 minutes daily. Having evolved from Asia (China, South Korea and Japan) and spreading to the West, India needs to catch up. Growth drivers for the Indian market include continued growth of social networking sites, low cost of production and convergence of business models towards virtual goods. It was interesting to listen to Sumit explaining how iteration is a critical part of social games, post-production is longer than pre-production, cost of gamer acquistion is very low, and how BitRhymes (set up 2 years ago) started making profits from the 1st quarter itself (truly inspiring, I must add). At ARPUs of $0.4/month(for good games) to $1.0/month (for top games) in the US, this seems a great idea.

Time for the last session, "The Creative Core Team" by Jithin Rao, Producer at Ubisoft Pune. Going into the session, I thought this would be more about how to assemble a core team for a startup studio. However, this session was more about how important it is for an established studio (typically spending mega bucks on each title) to have a core team who complement each other very well (given that so much is at stake). Having said that, it was a good session since it gave us a fair idea as to the involved parties in the development of a game (of course, most of us don't think of this while playing a game). Producer, creative director, art director, lead designer, lead level designer, lead sound designer, lead programmer and brand manager. All of them play a very important role in making an entertaining game. For small studios, most of the core team members play a dual-role.

That brought an end to a thoroughly entertaining, exhausting and enlightening day. I couldn't attend all the sessions even though I wanted to. To compensate, the organizers have promised us soft copies of the presentation materials and video sessions. And to round it off, all of us received a T-Shirt and certificate as a token to mark India's first game developer summit.

A word of thanks to the organizers for putting together a fantastic show. The planning and execution of this event were absolutely top notch. Keep it up guys. Remember what I said at the start, things could only get better. They certainly did.